Still In Love With You
by nommiej
Summary: They were young and in love, nothing could tear them apart...that is until she's forced to leave town, then, everything changed... **graphic violence**
1. First Love

**Notes: **

Hope you all enjoy this - I really don't want to turn the boys into heroes, they're badm bad guys but y'know...they were human once so...

i'm such a romantic so apologies if I lay it on a little thick at times...I will do my best to keep them dangerous.

I own nothing other than my own creations, and you may find some lines from the good ol' Mr Sparks' movies in here, also some other movies - I do not own those lines either, just thought they'd fit nicely...

Comments welcome please, they make me type faster!

Enjoy x

* * *

1983, Santa Carla, California

"_It's decision time David, who's it going to be"? The creature hissed, a malicious smile spreading across his face, yellow eyes burning ferociously in the dark._

"_Who's it going to be David? You or her"?..._

* * *

The seagulls cried loudly against a cloudless summer sky, the pink sun sinking into the inky ocean. The bright lights of the Boardwalk just starting to shine as he stood at the end of the Pier, running his hands through his long blonde hair sweeping it out of his eyes as the knot in his chest twisted deliciously painfully, he took a deep steadying breath.

She'd be here soon.

He heard the delicate click of heels approaching and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end and his pulse instantly ran a million miles a minute. As he turned to face her, no matter how many times he saw her, she always knocked the breath right out of him.

She looked up at him with big brown doe eyes under thick eyelashes, a playful half-smile on her pretty pink lips, her honey brown hair falling in waves around her bare, sun-kissed shoulders and the blush on her cheeks made his teenage blood run white hot through his veins.

She sidled up next to him and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him close to her, pressing her warm lips against his softly. His arms snaked around her slim waist, pulling her even closer against his chest. She pulled back slowly and rested her forehead against his, revelling in the feel of being in his arms once again. He was all that filled her thoughts as she counted down the hours, the minutes, until she could feel his warmth radiating against her once again, run her fingers through his golden tresses, to look at that devastatingly handsome face and gaze into his achingly blue eyes.

He ran his fingers through her long hair, rubbing his thumb along her jaw and wondered how he got so lucky. How a girl like her, a princess, could love a boy like him, an unruly, smart-ass kid from the even less desirable part of Santa Carla. But she did, she did love him and he loved her right back, with all the heart-wrenching fervour that comes with first love.

"C'mon beautiful" he said, throwing her a slow smile, draping his arm over her shoulders and guiding them both to the fun of a Friday night on the Boardwalk.

They'd met every day like this for the past year, rain, shine, storm, it didn't matter they were both infatuated and completely under first love's spell. They made whispered midnight promises of forever in between heated kisses, hearts aching for each other and felt as though nothing could tear them apart.

Of course, the universe always finds a way...

Her parents were out for the weekend and he'd been picking up a video for them to watch, that's when he'd first met Max.

He was kind, and smart and generous. Nothing like his own father who'd skipped out on him and his mother when he was very young. He'd actually taken a real interest in him, how he was doing at school, listening to him go on about his girl with an interested smile, trying to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble and occasionally letting him stay when things at home got too much to bear and it quickly became routine that he would go straight to the video store after school before going to meet her, trying to act cool but secretly loving the proud smile Max would give him if he mentioned a good grade on a test that week.

It really felt like his life might be starting to turn around, he had a girlfriend who loved him till the ends of the earth, his grades were up in his final year at school meaning he might actually graduate, he'd found a father figure who actually cared about him, and the two prom tickets he'd bought earlier were burning a hole in his jacket pocket as he sped toward the Boardwalk on his motorcycle, a wide grin plastered on his handsome face. Yep, life was pretty good.

It didn't last of course...

He saw her running down the street toward him, calling his name between chocked out sobs, her hair flowing behind her, tears streaming down her cheeks and his heart constricted painfully.

After what was left of Mr Campbell's body had been found washed up in the cove, everything started to spiral out of control, but he found he could always rely on Max. He didn't want to tell her about the trouble at home, not now, not when she'd just lost her father so he confided in Max, the older man offering him words of worldly advice, often accompanied with a hot meal, but it only got worse...


	2. We'll just jump on the bike

He hung up the receiver, his fingers wrapped around it so tightly his knuckles turned white.

She'd called him at the video store, she was leaving.

He felt sick.

Her Mom couldn't handle the loss of her husband and was moving them all back to Seattle to be with her grandparents.

He felt sick.

She could barely get the words out as she spoke to him, her breathing ragged.

He felt sick.

She was leaving at the end of the week.

"David" Max asked, concern thick in his tone as he took at the boy's distraught look of pain on his face. "David, what's the matter"?

"She's leaving"

* * *

"What are we gonna do David" she cried against his shoulder in her pink bedroom surrounded by packing boxes, her fingers gripping his t-shirt tightly, as if clinging onto him for dear life. David's mind raced, hasty decisions being made in the heat of the moment making him dizzy and he wrapped his arms around, pulling her even closer.

"We'll leave. We'll jump on the bike and just keep going" he said, his muscles tensing and relaxing in equal measure, his mind wanting to give in to the undeniable need to run away he's been feeling for the last two weeks as he held her, running his hand over her silken hair.

"What about your Mom, what about Max"? She asked, looking up at him with dark watery eyes that made his heart break and his throat to thicken painfully.

"They don't need me" he ground out. Still not wanting to let her know that his Mom had taken off weeks ago, leaving him to fend for himself now.

"David" she whispered, looking down at the wet patches her tears left on his t-shirt, rubbing at them absent-mindedly.

"Hey, c'mon, we'll just leave, ditch this crap hole town and go somewhere new, just you and me" he said holding her shoulders tightly, tracing circles down her arms, her smooth skin hot under his fingertips.

She looked up into his impossibly blue eyes and her stomach flipped and her heart ached painfully. The thought of leaving him...no, it would destroy her, her life wouldn't be worth living without him, she couldn't be without him, she just couldn't.

"Ok" she agreed, a final tear slipping down her flushed cheek.

"Tomorow, midnight, we'll meet at the end of the Pier" he said, tucking waves of soft, caramel brown hair behind her ears and wiping away the tear tracks from her cheeks, his hands slipping into her hair again.

"Tomorrow, midnight" she agreed, her blood running fizzy through her body.

He quickly pulled her to him, sealing their promise with an urgent kiss, feeling as though he might die where he stood if he didn't instantly feel her lips against his...

David woke in the early hours of the morning, tangled beneath pink sheets. A smile playing at the edges of his mouth as he looked across at the girl lying next to him. Unable to resist running his hands over her bare back, he scooted closer and slid his hands along her warm skin and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck softly, waking her gently. Her eyelids fluttered open and she whispered his name, making a delicious shiver run down his spine as he remembered the way she'd whispered his name in his ear not two hours ago.

"I gotta go, sweetheart" he whispered in between placing soft kisses along her shoulders, feeling the magnetic pull of her keep him next to her, contradicting his words.

"Don't go" she said, turning to lie her back against her mattress, tucking one arm under David's that was holding him up, drawing circles along his back and dipping down between his shoulder blades, her other hand running slowly up the arm he'd placed on her side. He was so beautiful it made her heart hurt, she ran her fingers through his hair, loving the way it fell from between them and back in his eyes, those incredible blue eyes.

"Beth, your Mom will be back soon" he whispered, entwining his fingers in hers, kissing the tip of each one before turning to get up off the bed. Beth sat up, wrapping the sheet around her naked body, this wasn't exactly how she'd pictured her first time, she'd imagined more candlelight, even music but as she watched him move around her room, the moonlight slicing through the window blinds throwing lines of white light against his body as he picked his clothes up off the floor she knew she wouldn't have had it any other way. It had been a promise, a promise of love until the end of the world. A promise she intended on keeping.

As he sat down on the edge of the bed to pull his boots on, she quickly wrapped her arms around his chest, kissing the side of his neck so softly he forgot what he was doing for a moment.

"Stay, we've got time" she cooed and a satisfied smirk graced his face and David was more than half tempted to roll back into bed with her, an almost desperate need making him want to make her whisper his name breathlessly into his ear once again.

He stood, cupping her face in his hands, God she was beautiful, he didn't deserve her. Her coffee brown eyes looking up at him so intensely he was sure she was burning her name on his soul. He'd only ever be hers; he knew it. He pulled her up to meet his lips, kissing her hungrily, his hands fisting in the sheet at her back.

"Midnight" he said resting his forehead against hers, breathing quickly.

"Midnight" she agreed, kissing him quickly again before he left her alone in her dark bedroom


	3. This is the only way

He parked quickly outside Max's and practically flew down the wooden path leading to the large hillside villa, banging loudly on the door with his fist on the front door. He heard Thorn growl protectively behind it but he just banged several more times, and several more again before he heard Max calm the dog behind the door.

Max looked down at David, who was looking around with wild, excited eyes. Max's eyes fell on the big black motorcycle parked at the entrance, loaded with an old army duffel bag.

"Max, I..."

"You're leaving" Max interrupted.

David sighed heavily.

"With Beth I assume" Max stated.

"I can't be without her Max, we have to go, this is the only way" he said desperately, running his cold fingers through his hair.

"I see" Max said in an understanding tone, smiling down at the boy "well, why don't you grab some things from the kitchen before you go, hmm?"

"I really gotta go, she's waiting for me" David said, gesturing to his bike behind him.

"Oh come now, it's the least I can do to get you both off on the right foot in your new life David" He said sweetly, "I insist".

David's stomach twisted painfully, he didn't want to be late, but Max had done so much for him, he couldn't refuse the man this final thing if he was never going to see him again.

"Sure" David reluctantly agreed, and Max smiled widely and clapped him on the back, ushering him inside the large bungalow and toward the kitchen, locking the front door securely behind him.

"Now, let's see what we have here" Max ruminated as he opened up the large double fridge.

David was overcome with an almost overwhelming sense of ungratefulness as he watched the older man wander around his kitchen in his dressing gown and slippers.

"Max, I'm sorry I'm taking off after all you've done for me..." David started.

"I'm not going to say I'm not disappointed you're going David" Max said, in what David assumed was a fatherly tone, "especially as I was getting so used to having some company, finally".

David felt the painful flood of guilt tug at his chest.

"I'm not going to condone your decision David" Max said, a disappointed inflection coating his words making David wince, "running away from your problems isn't exactly the actions of a man".

David shifted uncomfortably under Max's unwavering gaze and he suddenly felt like a seven-year-old being scolded. But Max had been so good to him, he really didn't want to disappoint him or let him down, he wanted to be a better man, the man Max thought he could be.

"If I don't go now, I'll lose her" David choked out, screwing up his eyes to stop the painful pricking. He'd never had a father as good as Max, the thought of him thinking badly of him made his insides squirm.

"What if there was another way"? Max said hopefully, slowly closing the distance between him and the boy stood helplessly in his kitchen, illuminated only by the electric fridge light.

"What do you mean"? David asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his old leather jacket.

"What if you and Beth could stay here with me, forever" Max said, an excited smile curling his mouth.

"She can't, her Mom is taking her away, we have to leave" David sighed in frustration.

"What if I could, resolve, that situation..." Max said cryptically, creeping closer to him around the kitchen counters "...would you be happy to stay then, David"?

"What do you mean resolved"? David asked, confusion furrowing his brow.

Max chuckled darkly.

"What if I could make it so Beth didn't ever have to leave Santa Carla, David..." Max said, leaning against the counter next to him "...you don't really want to leave do you David..."

Max looked deep into David's eyes and David felt his brain become foggy.

"I..."

"You don't want to leave your town do you"

"No..."

David couldn't shift the fog that descended over him, he tried to move his feet but found his brain signals wouldn't reach his legs so he stood rooted to the spot as he looked into Max's yellow eyes...

"You don't want to leave me all by myself now do you, David"

"I..."

"I've been so good to you David, haven't I been good to you"

"Yes, I just...

"And you do want to be a family don't you David"

"Yes, I..."

"We could be a family forever David, just you and me"

David's heart thudded hard against his chest and he blinked his dry eyes, an image of Beth's perfect face floated under his eyelids, and the fog from his brain slowly slipped away.

"Beth" he whispered.

"Oh David, I didn't want it to have to come to this" Max said, taking his glasses off and folding them into his dressing gown's breast pocket.

"Max, what the..." David started but choked on the rest of his words as Max's hand grabbed his neck in a vice like grip, his long fingernails digging into his smooth flesh. David watched in horror as Max's face transfigured with harsher cheekbones, burning yellow eyes, long fang like teeth dripping with saliva.

Adrenaline flooded his system as he thrashed around, clawing at Max's hand, desperate for air as his lungs burned in his chest and the grip around his neck threatening to snap the bones clean in two. Max launched him over the kitchen island, sending him crashing against the drawers, glasses smashing around him, the bowl of oranges rolling all over the floor.

"You can't escape, David..." Max chuckled darkly as he stalked over to him, grabbing him by the neck again and forcing him up against the units as if the teenager weighed nothing more than a feather "...we'll be a family forever now"

"Max..." David breathed, clawing again at his hand and arms, his legs flailing wildly in mid-air.

"I want _you_, my son..." Max hissed "...but I will take the girl if you refuse"

David stilled, his eyes widening in understanding.

Beth.

"I can make you powerful beyond your wildest dreams David" Max said, running his tongue along his sharp fangs, letting David's toes touch the ground lightly.

"You'll be the king of this town..." he bargained, "...you and I, we will rule together and she will be safe but know, if you refuse me, I will hunt her down David"

He let David's feet fully touch the linoleum and let him find his balance but not once let up his grip around his throat.

"It's decision time David..." Max hissed, a malicious smile spreading across his face, yellow eyes burning ferociously in the dark "...who's it going to be"?"

David swallowed hard, his entire body shook with fear but his mind was filled with thoughts of Beth, only Beth.

"Who's it going to be David...You or her?"


	4. He didn't come

Beth got to the Boardwalk at 11:55pm and piled her two rucksacks on the wooden bench at the end of the pier, smoothed out her green jumper and sat next to her bags and waited for him...

...and waited...

...and waited...

...

"Beth..."

Beth's eyes shot open in panic, her Mom's face swimming in front of her blurry eyes in the early morning sun. Her Mom crouched down in front of her, rubbing her daughters freezing cold arms as she sat rigidly on the bench at the end of the Pier.

Beth's heart felt like it was being ripped out and a pained sob wrenched free from her dry lips, fat tears instantly falling down her pale cheeks.

"Oh, honey"

"He didn't come" Beth wailed against her mother's shoulder as she wrapped her protectively in her arms, smoothing her hair, rubbing her back, hushing her gently, "I waited...he didn't come, he promised"

"We have to go honey, I'm sorry" her Mom pressed gently.

"No...I have to find him!" Beth yelled, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the sleeve of her jumper, though it didn't stop more form falling.

"Beth, we don't have time, we have to get to the airport" her Mom spoke softly.

"But Mom, I love him!" she yelled, balling her small fists at her side.

Her Mom smiled sadly. Hadn't she been young once, hadn't she felt love's first heartbreak, and hadn't it been all consuming? She looked at her daughter, long hair blowing in the ocean breeze, pale face stained with tear tracks, eyes pained and hopeful and she understood. She understood that at eighteen, this feels like the end of the world, like you can't possibly go on but she also knew that it would pass. Looking into Beth's watery eyes made her heart ache, whilst she was heartbroken that her only daughter had planned to run away with Santa Carla's up and coming bad boy, she knew she would've called, would've reconciled, and that this, him not showing up, was probably for the best. He'd seen how her little girl looked at him, how she was so completely and utterly under his spell, like she'd walk off a cliff if he asked her to and it scared her a little. But she also knew Beth wasn't going anywhere until she'd seen him and she sighed heavily.

"How about we stop by Max's on the way to the airport, see if he's there"? She bargained.

"Let's go" Beth said, hauling her bags onto her shoulders, a stony expression hardening her delicate features, practically running to the car.

Beth's Mom drove the four miles or so up the hills to Max's house, her stomach knotting with worry, desperately hoping to spare her daughter further heartbreak, hoping David just wouldn't be there.

She'd barley switched off the ignition as Beth flung herself out the passenger door, hurtling down the wooden path and throwing her fists against the front door, banging wildly.

"David!" she screamed; vision blurry from blinding tears.

"David!..."

...

"Don't open that door David" Max threatened darkly as David's pale hand hovered over the handle.

"I have to talk to her" David spat back, grasping the handle tightly.

"If you do, you won't be able to control yourself...you don't want to _hurt_ her, do you David" Max said gleefully, an evil smirk curling around his teeth.

"I'd _never_ hurt her" David ground out, turning to Max with a hard stare.

"You will David, you won't be able to stop yourself..." Max sneered "...you can hear it can't you, her young blood flowing through her, even from behind the door"

David grimaced, recognising this as the pounding reverberating through his head, making him restless and his throat ache with painful thirst. His eyes widened in horror as he knew Max was right.

"But, I..."

"What, you love her? Ha"! Max teased "...do you really think she'd love you now?"

David's hand dropped slowly from the handle, Beth's heart wrenching yells still echoing from the other side of the door.

"You're _my_ son now David, you know she wouldn't be able to love you for who you are" Max said quietly, gently placing his hand on the teenager's shoulder. David hung his head in defeat as a single tear travelled down from his icy blue eyes..."there's no going back now" Max said around an evil smirk.

"But I haven't even..." David hesitated, not really wanting to finish that sentence, not really wanting to think about what he could do, what he wanted to do...

"Oh but you will David, you will, you may be able to fight it, fight it for a long time, but the thirst will win in the end David, it always does and you wouldn't want her to get in the way, would you, wouldn't want her to see what you are?" Max said, placing his other hand on the boy's shoulder, turning him to face him.

David knew he was right. He could feel it, the way his body wanted it, _needed_ it, his throat ached painfully and his head throbbed. He felt weak.

David's eyes turned icy-cold and his beautiful face hardened as he steeled himself against Beth's rallying, he turned his back on the front door and slunk back into the darkness, trying to ignore the way his heart broke, trying to ignore the way his body felt the pull toward her, no longer out of love. His stomach churned as he became utterly disgusted and horrified at himself for wanting her in his arms for only one reason now...

And Max was right, David was able to fight the thirst for a long time, for a very long time, almost three years, longer than Max had ever seen before. David had continued to age as his half human-self battled for control inside him, had resisted not wanting to fully turn into what he'd seen Max become that awful night, knowing that if he did Beth would never love him again, ever.

But it was becoming harder, and David was weak, so weak now...

When Max ordered take out one night he could hear the rush of the kid's blood from halfway down the street and his throat ached so hard he thought it was actually bleeding, as if he'd swallowed handfuls of jagged glass and rough, dry sand and the only thing that could free him from the unbearable thirst was walking right to him.

The kid didn't stand a chance.

As soon as Max had opened the door David launched himself at him with a deep growl, dragging the kid inside, his talons scratching and tearing at his flesh. Max slammed the door shut before the kid's wild screams could be heard all over the neighbourhood, the pizza boxes crushed and its contents smeared all over the thick carpet.

David's skull ached as it transformed slowly into the monster he knew he was now becoming, but he didn't care. What was the point in resisting, Beth hadn't come back for him and he was no longer the guy she knew anyway, he'd become cold and cruel. Max was right, she'd never love him now.

David let out a harrowing growl before he messily sunk his long fangs into the kid's long bronzed neck, the carotid artery releasing a fountain of deep red blood, spraying over David's face and shoulders. David finally submitted to his darker self and his fingers clutched and grabbed at the kid's mass of golden curls as he drank from him. The kid's dark grey eyes brimmed with tears, his angelic features contorted into indescribable pain, blood seeping from his neck as David drank messily, blood smearing around his mouth, running down his chin, his chest, staining the white carpet beneath them.

The kid's struggling slowed, the life draining from him. His big, sad grey eyes becoming lifeless, his bronzed skin became paler as David finished guzzling from him, a struggled, gurgling breath escaped him and David scrambled breathlessly away from the kid, smashing his back against the large stone fireplace, wiping the blood out of his eyes and smearing it on his leather trousers, unable to get it all off as it had already starting to congeal in the light scruff on his face.

Max looked on, his yellow eyes filled with joy, his mouth turned up in a malicious smile.

David groaned in exquisite pain as he felt the kid's blood course through his dry veins.

"You feel it don't you David" Max hissed excitedly.

David's head felt like it was going to crack open with the sound of blood rushing through him once again as he threw it back, but as he calmed slightly, he clenched his fists, looking at his pale arms he felt strong, really strong, powerful even. David stopped trying to fight it and let the feeling flood his senses, all five of which seemed to explode within him as if he'd never really been alive before this moment. He was suddenly hyper aware of everything, he felt as though he could feel every fibre of his blood-soaked t-shirt as it clung to his body, he could hear everything, the shallow puffs of breath from the kid slowly dying in Max's living room, Thorn panting wildly out on the patio, the rumble of the kid's motorcycle out by the front gate, the heartbeat of the two women jogging up the hill. His eyes rolled back into his head in and he had to stifle a groan of pleasure as he smelled the overpowering and now hedonistic scent of coppery blood filling the house, he could smell the still hot pizza discarded on the hallway floor. He could still taste the heavenly sweet, thick blood coating his tongue and as he opened his burning yellow eyes, he could see everything in striking clarity even though the house was cast in midnight shadow.

David knew there and then he was a slave to this feeling, the excruciating ecstasy that was flooding him and he knew he'd chase it for the rest of eternity.

Max knelt down next to the kid, brushing sunshine gold curls out of his eyes, letting his gaze travel over his form. He had been strong and healthy before David's attack; he could be again with max's help...

A gurgled cry slipped between small, full lips and Max hushed him gently.

"You don't want to die do you..." Max fished around in the kid's pockets and found a small leather wallet attached at the jeans with a silver chain. He flipped it open and smiled "...Marko...you don't want to die"

Marko's deep grey eyes pleaded silently with Max as he continued to gurgle and spit blood over his delicate chin.

"No, of course you don't" Max teased "...you always wanted a brother, didn't you David" Max stated looking over at the blood-soaked creature resting against his fireplace. David's eyes darkened and a slow, dangerous smirk graced his lips.

Max turned back to look deep into Marko's eyes as he quickly sliced his talons down the palm of his large hand, watching the almost black blood drip onto Marko's white t-shirt. He raised his hand over Marko's lips and balled it into a tight fist, watching the dark droplets fall into Marko's gasping mouth, his tongue instinctively flashed out and licked, smearing Max's blood over his pale, dry lips.

"Welcome to the family Marko" Max hissed.


	5. What's the deal, bro?

1987, Interstate 9, California

The engine of her mother's red Mercedes convertible growled down the pitch black I9.

The still warm ocean breeze could still be felt up here in the hills and it whipped her long honey brown hair around her as she pushed her foot a little harder to the floor, letting the electric guitar solo of the latest rock hit to blast from the tinny speakers as loud as she dared as she sped down the highway toward town.

A confusing mix of emotions stabbed at her heart. She'd managed to stay away for the past four years but there was no escaping it now.

As she drove down the hill at a dangerous speed, she gripped the steering wheel tighter and rounded the corner quickly, tyres screaming against the asphalt, and there it was, her first glimpse of the bright, far away lights of Santa Carla and the dark ocean beyond. Her blood ran cold.

Visions haunted her memories as she raced toward Santa Carla and she clenched her jaw, her face hardening. Her Mom was wrong, time did not heal all wounds, this one was still raw and painful.

Would he even still be there? She thought and instantly cursed herself for thinking it.

She wasn't here for him; she was here for Lori, and yet, remembered images of his frustratingly handsome face flashed to the fore of her mind and she struck the steering wheel hard with the heel of her hand, letting out a groan at the way her stomach performed summersaults and the mere thought of him.

Twisting the volume all the way up on the radio to drown out all thoughts of him, she brushed her hair behind her ear and glanced at her reflection in the rear-view mirror. _Enough_ she told herself, looking into her dark eyes and she tried to instead think of the reason she was returning to Santa Carla. Her friend's wedding, a nice, happy thing to be coming home to, she tried to smile but the knot in her stomach continued to twist and her heart thrummed against her chest.

It wasn't long before she was heading down the main street along the promenade toward Lori's house on the other side of town.

She thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest as she passed the heaving Boardwalk but she just gripped the steering wheel tighter and refused to look anywhere but ahead of her, not at the Boardwalk lights, not at the end of the pier, not at the Video Max, nothing but dead ahead. All of a sudden, a bright headlight flashed in her rear-view mirror and a punk on a dirt bike screamed past her as quick as lightning. Pushing the palm of her hand to her chest to steady her racing heart, she took a few steadying breaths, the sound of the motorcycle sending deep chills to run through her. Putting the car back in gear she slowly continued down the road, a scowl set on her delicate features, hating the way the sound had instantly made her think of him...

...

Her name was on the wind...

The first time it floated to him it was barely more than a breath, wafting in off the ocean.

He ignored it.

The second time it was a whisper, somewhere around the Ferris Wheel and if his heart still beat, he was pretty sure it would be racing.

As the night continued on, he couldn't ignore it any longer, the whole Boardwalk seemed to vibrate with the sound of her name.

"What's the deal, bro?" one questioned.

"Nothing" he growled as he stood, looking out at the mass of people on the boardwalk, his cold eyes searching the crowd carefully. "C'mon" he said sighing heavily in defeat, but just before he turned away, his attention was caught by the sound of an obnoxious dirt bike hurtling down the prom, it tore past a girl in a red Mercedes...his breath hitched in the back of his throat.

It was her.

She was back.


	6. Marko always paid attention

She pulled up outside Lori's house, a big grey and white panelled structure with intricate porch details, double doors and a few concrete steps up from the road.

She switched the engine off and tried to gather herself. It had been harder than she'd thought it'd be to drive alongside the boardwalk. Visions of them together and happy tugged at her heart, inevitably followed by the crushing pain of the memory of her last day in Santa Carla ad the reason she'd had to leave in the first place. The picture of her dad's mangled body swam in front of her eyes and she gripped the steering wheel tighter.

Breathing in deeply, she shook her head to rid all thoughts of murder and a particular blonde boy from her mind and she stared at herself hard in the rear-view mirror.

"Get it together Beth" she whispered, fixing a slash of cherry pink lipstick across her lips, fluffing her caramel brown hair and taking another deep breath, she slipped out the car, grabbed her suitcase from the trunk and walked the few steps up to the front door.

"Oh my god! Beth"! Lori screamed, flinging the door open before Beth reached the top of the stairs. Lori threw herself at her friend and engulfed her in a hug, Beth had to try not to choke on the smell of hairspray and Cacharel that accompanied her.

"I really can't thank you enough for this Beth, you're really saving our asses" Lori said sincerely, hugging her again at the door "I know coming back is hard..."

"Hey, no, we're not thinking about that or mentioning him at all" Beth said, a forced smile on her lips "I'm here for you and Jamie"

It hadn't been a surprise when Lori had asked her to be a bridesmaid at her wedding. They'd been friends since second grade, but it had been a surprise when she'd asked her to house-sit for an entire month after the wedding so her and Jamie could go on an extended honeymoon adventure.

Of course, she couldn't say no, even though the thought of coming back to Santa Carla made Beth want to run away as fast as she could in the opposite direction.

Lori looked at her friend with a wary, unconvinced look but Beth just rolled her eyes and walked past her into the house.

After much catching up over wedding favour packing, Chinese take-out, many beers and even more laughs shared between Lori, Beth, Jamie and Lori's mom, Lori showed Beth to the guest room.

They climbed out the large bay window and sat on the porch roof, just like they used to when they were teenagers, nostalgic smiles gracing their pretty faces and they clinked the neck of two beer bottles together in cheers as they sat and listened to the sound of the distant Boardwalk, still in full swing, and the faint, hypnotic crash of waves against the beach.

Lori looked over at her friend, her long wavy hair falling in waves down her back, her slight frame curled up on itself as she hugged her knees to her chest, defiantly not looking at the bright lights of the fayre a few miles away and Lori's brow knotted in worry.

"Look, I know we're not going to mention him..." Lori started...

Beth swallowed hard and her stomach swelled with nausea, dreading the time this conversation would come around, wanting to avoid it altogether really but she knew she couldn't avoid it.

"Lori, no, c'mon I don't..." Beth protested, looking back out at the dark ocean horizon but Lori just took Beth's hands in hers and squeezed comfortingly.

"But if we were mentioning him..." Lori paused as Beth again turned away from her but she pulled gently on her hands, trying to get Beth to look back at her. Beth huffed, swallowed hard and gritted her teeth, turning to face her friend who fixed her with a pained, anxious gaze.

"...I'd tell you not to go looking for him..."

...

David wiped at his bloodstained face as he walked into the entrance of the cave, a satisfied smirk on his handsome face. His brothers whooped and hollered behind him, frenzied from the adrenaline of the chase. David's body felt like it was humming with the powerful intoxication that was almost overwhelming him.

It never got old.

Each and every time was just like his first and he couldn't get enough.

True, over the last year he'd honed and perfected his restraint, was no longer the rabid like creature he was in those first few weeks of his turning when Santa Carla had been overrun with violent, gruesome murders. A dark cloud had settled over the coastal town, kids had stricter curfews and were no longer allowed to stay out past sunset, fearing what was lurking in the shadows. The Boardwalk almost became a ghost town, no one daring to venture outside in the dark for fear of never returning home, and if you listened carefully, you could hear the faint echo of horrified screams floating on the midnight breeze carried in off the ocean. David had never felt so powerful as he rained bloody terror down on the town, stalking the Boardwalk every night, completely in control of his surroundings and the people in it, his dangerous blue eyes scanning for prey and every single person in Santa Carla felt the icy shiver lick down their spine as he approached.

Max had been furious, barely able to maintain control over David as he became ever more powerful and it wasn't long before Dwayne and Paul joined their twisted family, and before anyone had time to notice, the boys had taken over the town, claiming the Boardwalk as their territory.

Max hadn't repeated that mistake, never allowing the other three boys to get so out of control as David had, not wanting to call attention to himself, trying desperately to maintain the good standing he had worked so hard to build up when he'd settled in Santa Carla, providing him with the perfect cover and allowing him and his boys free reign over the small town.

He had however insisted they not return to the house again, too much attention was being drawn and the neighbours twitched curiously behind window blinds as they watched the dangerous young men coming and going in the dark, so they'd settled in the forgotten hotel that had sunk into Hudson's Bluff.

David sank into his chair by the fire pit and leaned his head back, closing his eyes and revelling in the euphoric feeling pumping hard through his body.

"So, who's the girl"? Marko asked him quietly, taking a slow drag of a cigarette as Paul proceeded to blast Motley Cru out of the ghetto blaster balanced precariously on the edge of the fountain, whilst Dwayne skulked off deeper into the cave.

David fixed Marko with a warning burning deep in his eyes, his face set hard in a dangerous scowl.

Marko held his hands up in surrender, flopping back into the chair next to David and drew another deep breath from his cigarette.

Though he didn't push David on the point, he hadn't missed the way his older brother had looked down the Boardwalk at the girl in the convertible, and he'd never forget it.

The others hadn't been paying attention but Marko had, Marko always paid attention, and something about that girl had caused a flash of terror to spark in his brother's eyes, to make his muscles tense, instinctually wanting to run away back to the safety of their hotel and although it was gone in the blink of an eye, his usual cool, detached air returning in an instant, David had been scared, and Marko had seen it.


	7. Going for some air

Beth felt sick.

Her hands shook slightly as she applied a lick of black mascara to her long, thick eyelashes.

She'd been dreading tonight.

Lori's bachelorette party.

The thought of a night of drinking, dancing and catching up with friends she hadn't seen in four years should've filled her with excitement but as the time to leave the safety of Lori's house got closer and closer, she felt more and more anxious.

"C'mon Beth, time's a wastin'..." Jamie yelled up the stairs to her. He was being an angel and dropping her and Lori off at the promenade where they were meeting a group of Lori's friends.

Beth shoved her I.D, lipstick, asprin and purse into her tiny glittery bag, and stared at herself hard in the mirror, trying to ignore the part of her that kind of hoped he'd be there.

"What are you doing" she whispered, rolling her eyes disappointedly at herself, yanking the string of the bathroom light as she left, her heels sinking into the thick pile of the carpet.

Beth fixed a perfect smile on her face as she descended the stairs, hoping her body would be tricked by her fake smile and follow suit.

"Wow" Jamie and Lori both exclaimed as she floated down the staircase, taking in her knockout of a strapless, short midnight blue dress, her long sun-kissed legs looked like they never ended and her hair fell in perfect silken waves over her bare shoulders, the slash of cherry pink lipstick making her lips look edible and her eyes were shining as bright as the stars.

"Not taking any prisoners tonight then eh, Beth?" Jamie teased, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at her.

Beth blushed and rolled her eyes. "Shut up Jamie" she huffed, shoving him lightly on the shoulder.

Lori looked at her friend with a quirked eyebrow and a knowing look, a look that said she knew exactly why she'd pulled out all the stops for tonight's outing.

Beth's stomach flipped uncomfortably and she hoped Jamie or Lori didn't look too hard or they might see she was shaking like a leaf. She just wanted to get this night over with, with as little trouble as possible.

"C'mon then, let's go"! Lori squealed excitedly, linking arms with Beth as they and Jamie left the house. Beth thought she might pass out...

Jamie drove steadily to the prom, stealing glimpses of his bride-to-be in the passenger seat, his heart swelling with love as he watched her, excited and happy, so pleased that the storm that was forecast had yet to arrive, letting her have the perfect night for her party – it was dark by the time they pulled up on the prom, the stormy breeze that was gusting all day had softened gently and was now mild, cooling the sticky stormy air. The lights of the Boardwalk glistened against the cloudy sky and the sounds of everyone having a fun Friday seemed to thicken the atmosphere.

"See you later handsome" Lori said with a kilowatt smile, placing a firm kiss on Jamie's lips, leaving a trace of red lipstick behind and slipped out the car.

Beth inhaled deeply and steeled herself, forcing a smile onto her full pink lips "thanks Jamie" she said with a small smile.

"Don't go breaking any hearts now" Jamie teased again as Beth slid out the car.

As soon as her feet hit the sidewalk she felt lightheaded as a rush of nausea smacked her hard.

It was like nothing had changed.

The lights, the sounds, the smells...everything was the same and her heart ached painfully in her chest.

Before she could stop herself, she quickly grabbed Lori's hand and squeezed hard. Lori's head snapped back to her friend, her brow furrowed in worry – the two girls exchanged a look neither had to explain, and Lori smiled sympathetically at her friend.

"Even if he does turn up, we'll be too busy having a good time to notice, ok" Lori said, squeezing her friend's hands tightly.

Beth shook her head slightly, forcing the anxious bubble that was swelling in her chest all the way to her toes.

"Sorry, you're right, totally right – this is your night, your last wild night before becoming Mrs Green, no boys allowed!" Beth said, an apologetic smile gracing her lips and through sheer force of will she told herself that she _would_ enjoy this night, if only for Lori's sake. She would not spend the whole night in her head, thinking of him, this was Lori's night only.

The two girls met up with the rest of the group and after a few minutes of hugging and squealing, sashayed their way through Santa Carla...

The club was hot, dark, loud and crowded, this was obviously the place to be seen on a Saturday night. The DJ blasted out heavy rock tunes on stage and the girls joined the fray of bodies on the dance floor.

After quite a few beers, Beth lost herself in the music and moved freely on the dance floor but her heart skipped a painful beat as she suddenly felt a strong arm encircle her waist.

"Well, hey there beautiful"

Beth looked up and was confronted with a mass of sandy blonde hair, a pair of blue-grey eyes and a charming, lopsided smile.

Beth felt the hot blush creeping into her cheeks.

"You look like you're looking for trouble" the guy said making the two other, also rather handsome, guys standing behind him smirk smugly but after a brief exchange of looks between the three of them, Beth watched as the one with tight golden curls shot the guy hassling her a warning look, which he ignored, turning back to Beth with a slow smile and a wild look in his eyes.

Her heart started beating furiously and her mind went blank rendering her speechless...all she knew was, these guys were trouble in a big way.

"Sorry guys..." Lori said, sidling up to Beth and guiding her away to the other side of the club "...girls night out, no guys allowed"

"Aww, com'on babe" the guy said, looking back toward the two girls with that charming smile, making Beth blush deeper.

"Com'on Paul, she's ditched you" the one with the curls said, hitting Paul on the arm.

"Hey, it's your loss beautiful" Paul said with a wink and the three boys stalked off toward the bar.

Lori linked arms with Beth as they walked over to the rest of their girls.

"Jamie was right, your breaking hearts already" she said with a smile, Beth rolled her eyes, despite the rosy blush on her cheeks.

The girls continued to dance wildly, as if they hadn't had a night out in years and Beth was once again overwhelmed by the pounding beat of the music and the alcohol that was now flowing freely.

She swayed her head and hips to the music and caught a glimpse of the tall guy she met earlier, he threw her a slow, sly smile and her heart raced inside her chest. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and goosebumps formed on her arms...he was watching her, and not the kind of watching that most of the guys in the club were doing. This feeling...this was something different...

The white glow from the strobe lights mixed with the smoke from the fog machine, making her see in soft focus.

She blinked. He was gone.

Looking round wildly she saw him again on the crowded dancefloor, closer this time.

She blinked. He was gone.

Her body pumped itself with adrenaline and she recognized the "fight or flight" instinct bubbling and mixing inside her. Whipping her head round to find him again, she spotted him closer still but as she blinked again, he disappeared from sight.

Spinning around on the spot, her big brown eyes searched for him in the crowd, her breath became heavy and she felt suddenly claustrophobic in the humid, hot club, the music becoming faint in her ears...and that's when she felt cold breath on the back of her neck.

A chill ran all the way down her spine and she couldn't move, she felt paralyzed...and just as quickly, it was gone.

The music returned to her ears, pounding loudly in her brain and she had to get out.

"Going for some air" Beth yelled at Lori and the girl nodded quickly before returning her attention the rest of the girls.

Beth pushed her way through the hive of sweaty bodies in the club and as she finally opened the doors, she breathed a sigh of relief as the cool, night ocean breeze washed over her. but something tugged at the back of her mind, something she couldn't shake and before she knew what she was doing, she started walking away from the club, her movements not completely her own, a fog having again descended over her mind and before she knew it, she was walking out toward the prom.

Trouble soon found her...


	8. He knows you're here

Beth found herself walking in a daze along the deserted prom, pulled along by some intense force she couldn't seem to refuse and it grew stronger and stronger the further away she got from the club.

Suddenly the wind whipped up and a cold shiver rippled through her, the faint sound of cruel laughter floated past her on the breeze and goosebumps raised on her skin, panic flooding her body as she felt like she had back in the club...she was being watched.

Shaking her head slightly in an attempt to rid herself of her daze, she subtly glanced over her shoulder and her heart sank sickeningly to her stomach as she saw two, large surfer punks stalking behind her and for the second time that night, her heart thudded painfully against her chest.

She picked up her pace a little, and breathed deeply, wishing she hadn't had quite as many beers as she had, but they kept following her.

Looking behind her again, she saw them puff out their chests and smirk at her, also picking up their pace.

_Shit_...

Quickening her walk to an almost jog, or as close as she could get to one in her heels, Beth tucked her hair behind her ears and felt the undeniable urge to escape. Throwing one last glance at the guys behind her before she decided to run, they were closer than she thought.

She didn't hesitate as the invisible, magnetic force that had taken over her mind seemed to pull her toward the Boardwalk, running as best as she could through the almost abandoned fayre. Beth fought back the tears pricking at her eyes as the guys behind followed too quickly, throwing cat calls and whistles at her - she couldn't wait to get out of this town, she should've never have come back!

Beth rounded a corner quickly and nearly fell right over several large, shiny black motorcycle and their riders.

"Well look who it is..." Paul said with a sly, knowing smile, "..couldn't stay away, huh babe?"

Beth's mind became razor sharp, the fog instantly clearing as she looked up into Paul's teasing eyes and the force that pulled hard at her body slipped away, leaving her with a sick feeling of dread as the realisation of her actions hit her – she'd left her friends, by herself, and went wandering around Santa Carla, the murder capital of the world, all. by. herself...

"What am I doing here"? She whispered to herself, making the three guys chuckle softly. Paul didn't hesitate to snake his arms around her waist, pulling her close to his chest but the playful air soon turned explosive as the two guys that were chasing Beth rounded the corner.

They looked at Beth with slow, disgusting smiles and hungry eyes, only seeing her, not noticing that she was currently wrapped up in Paul's arms, or the way his two friends instantly flanked him and Beth.

Paul looked down into her big, panicked brown eyes "...guess you were looking for trouble after all..." he said darkly and she could feel his arms tighten possessively around her.

She could hear her blood rushing in her ears. What the hell was she doing! She thought, was she looking to get herself killed!

The punks leered at Beth and she instinctually grasped at Pauls jacket, clinging on for dear life, choosing what seemed to be the lesser of two evils and buried her head in his chest. She didn't see the way him and his two friends looked at the punks, taunting smiles graced their handsome faces, their eyes dark and dangerous, goading the punks to dare to take another step, revelling in any excuse to be able to rip their heads off right there and then.

The silent, testosterone injected exchange was over in half a minute, the punks clearly recognising they were outnumbered and knowing the reputation of the bikers they backed off, headed back to the prom and an easier target.

"Look at her, she's shakin'" Paul laughed, looking over his shoulder at his friends with a crazy smile, slightly releasing his hold on Beth.

Beth looked around; the guys that had stalked her now gone she took a deep, ragged breath.

"You smell good" Paul whispered into her ear, pulling her close and flipping her soft hair over her shoulder, running his fingers down her back and she felt the hot flush of embarrassment rise up her neck as he looked down at her with a dangerous smile.

"Pauly, c'mon bro, leave her, David'll be back in a minute" the shorter one with tight golden curls warned.

...David...

Beth's mind froze, every muscle in her body tensed and her heart pounded so hard she thought it might beat right out of her chest.

"Sorry princess, maybe another time" Paul said with a lopsided smile as he slipped his arms from her waist and all three guys swaggered back to their bikes, mounting them gracefully.

The echo of the growling engines startled her, bringing her back to her senses and she stepped toward them quickly.

"Wait..." she yelled above the roaring engines "...who's David"?

The one with the curls snapped his attention to her at her outburst, his gaze running over her slowly, he sighed heavily and gestured for Paul and his darker friend to go on without him and they sped off without a backward glance into the night.

Beth summoned up all her courage and walked right up to the guy atop his big black motorcycle, the sound of its hypnotic purr reverberating through the electric atmosphere.

He studied her, instantly recognising how she could get under someone's skin. She was beautiful and brave, her small delicate frame shaking in the night air, her big brown eyes held a fire newly ignited, her golden-brown hair whipping about her beautiful face.

He looked away, sighing heavily, considering his decision one final time but his attention was drawn back to her as she placed her warm, hand atop his and he closed his eyes, revelling in the warmth radiating from her hand onto his cold skin and travelling up his arm.

"Please..." she begged.

He swallowed hard, looking down into her big, watery doe eyes.

He was going to regret this.

"He knows you're here" he said darkly, a serious expression hardening his angelic features and he had to grip the handlebars of his bike hard in restraint as he heard her heart skip a beat...


	9. Well Pauly, what are you gonna do?

Thank you all so much for reading, and for the peeps that have followd - hope you're enjoying it!

* * *

"I don't see why I couldn't've stayed with her for a bit" Paul whined as him and Dwayne descended the rocky steps into the hotel. Dwayne clenched his jaw tight; he'd had to listen to Paul complain about Marko taking away his plaything all the ride back home and his patience was wearing thin.

"I don't know man, go bug Marko about it if you want her that bad" Dwayne huffed, jumping off the final, steep rock and landing on the sandy floor with a thud.

"But she smelt good right, it wasn't just me, I mean, she smelt _really_ good bro..." Paul ignored Dwayne's brush off, chasing close behind him as he carried on in rapture about the girl he met in town, "...and dude, those eyes man, and her legs!..."

Dwayne ground his teeth and shoved Paul hard in the shoulder onto the old sofa..."I swear to God man, if you mention that girl again, I'm gonna..."

"What girl"?

Both Dwayne and Paul looked up to the entrance of the cave to where David and Marko were striding down the steps.

"Just some chick Paul ran into in town" Dwayne complained, sinking onto the sofa next to Paul, missing the warning look Marko had given him.

"She's not just some chick bud, I think I'm in love, she's the one, I can feel it..." Paul said with conviction, his grey-blue eyes sparkling in the dim candlelight "...and anyway, she ran into me, it's not like I went chasin' her or nothin'"

"Only after you called her to you, you idiot" Dwayne chuckled darkly, punching Paul on the arm.

David rolled his eyes and chuckled softly, every month Paul was in love with some new girl, so convinced she was going to be the one he'd spend eternity with, but it always ended in his brothers tossing her mangled, bloody body off the end of the point or roasting on a bonfire as Paul sank into a pit of despair, then almost instantly his head would turn at the sight of his next true love.

Paul never did have much self-control.

"So, where'd you meet this new one, Romeo" David teased, placing a cigarette between his lips and flicking his lighter to life, shielding it from the faint ocean breeze with his gloved hand.

Marko cringed; this was not going to end well.

Paul leapt from the sofa, hopping up gracefully onto the edge of the long dried up fountain and proceeded to walk around its edge, arms outstretched as if for balance, though he didn't need to.

"She was in a club, took me a little while to pry her away but she just couldn't resist my awesome charm..." Paul recounted with a wolfish grin plastered on his face "...not seen her around before, and I'd definitely remember her..."

David watched as Paul jumped down off the fountain and sped away on a skateboard, connecting the dots quicker than Marko had hoped as Paul continued to go on about the girl.

David's demeanour quickly changed as he took a slow drag of his cigarette, his eyes turning cold, his face hard and expressionless, his muscles tensing under his coats and the air in the cave felt like it dropped a few degrees. Both Marko and Dwayne felt the change in atmosphere and shifted uncomfortably under the heavy weight of it, Paul, oblivious, carried on waxing lyrical about her golden-brown hair, her big dark eyes, her long legs...

"...Dude, you should've seen the way she held onto me when those two punks were chasing her..."

David's fists clenched, his eyes flashing yellow in the darkness as the rage bubbled in his chest.

"And you just let them go"? David interrupted darkly, his fingers clutching at the arms of his wheelchair as he faught the fury washing over him in powerful waves. Not entirely sure which part he was more livid about, that some jerkoff punks had dared to hunt her down, or that it was Paul's arms she'd fallen into for safety.

"Well yeah, Marko told us to hit the road so we took off" Paul said, looking up at David and then to Marko pleadingly, silently begging his older brother to back him up, now noticing David's shift in mood.

"It was getting late David, I didn't want to..." Marko started, walking slowly over to his brother.

"You mean to tell me, your girl was being chased down by two dickweed punks, and you did nothing about it" David said, his tone dangerous as he looked up at Paul with frozen fire in his eyes.

"Hey, you're right" Paul said, stepping off the skateboard and letting it crash into the wall.

"Well Pauly, what are you gonna do about it" David said with an evil smirk as he looked up at Paul, his cigarette hanging from between his lips.

Paul turned to the rest of his brothers, freeing his darker self with a wicked grin, his eyes glowing yellow in the firelight, his brow creasing unnaturally as his long fangs protruded from his lips.

"I think I'm in the mood for a midnight snack..." he said with a grin "...care to partake dudes"?

* * *

They found them passed out underneath the boardwalk, empty beer cans and cigarette butts scattered around them.

David would've liked it better if they'd been awake, at least then he could've chased them. Chased them as they chased her, he could've felt the fear pulsating out of every one of their pores, heard their hearts beat furiously in their chests, watch their eyes cloud over with the knowledge that there was no escape.

But this would have to do.

David yanked one of them up off the sand, his talons sinking into his thick neck, pushing him up against a rotten, waterlogged beam and the punk let out a wild scream, his bloodshot eyes unfocused with a haze of alcohol and pain.

David barely noticed his brothers already ripping into the other one, David wanted to take a bit more time, he wanted to feel his fear, fear of _him_, fear of his inevitable bloody death.

David tightened his grip around the punk's neck, grinning as his feet swung heavily, his fingers scratching at David's arms, his oily face turning red and then purple as David squeezed harder, blood trickling down his fingers.

David could hear the hard thump of the punk's heart slow and he released him quickly, the punk fell to his knees and buried his hands in the cold sand as he choked and spluttered, gasping for air, his heart beat now racing again and David breathed deeply, the sweet smell of fear hitting him like a euphoric tidal wave as the punk scrambled away.

David chucked darkly, stalking over to him, clawing at his back and grabbing a fistful of the guys t-shirt, throwing him against another rotted beam. A sickening crack echoed in the dark and the punk slumped down helplessly in the sand, his back broken in several places. David's face twisted into a terrifying smile and he launched himself at the punk, his razor-sharp teeth tearing at the guys neck, face, shoulders as blood gushed down into the sand and coated David's face and chest.

David didn't drink and they didn't hide the bodies.

This wasn't a thirst kill.

This was a warning.


	10. Good choice

C10

Beth woke to golden summer sunshine streaming in through the gauzy curtains and the fresh, warm ocean breeze blowing in through the open window.

Her eyes fluttered open and she glanced at the glowing red numbers of the digital clock on the nightstand through half open eyes.

11:45

Beth groaned and rolled back over, burying her head in her pillow hoping to ignore the throbbing pain in her head and go back to sleep but her ears were filled with the sound of the seagulls crying outside, cars purring down the street and Lori clattering cups downstairs…

No such luck.

She slid out of the covers and softly padded her way to the bathroom, flicking on the hot water, letting the steam ease her aching head and the boiling hot water wash over her body as she tried not to remember the events of the night before…

"_He knows you're here_"

A shiver ran through her body and her heart thudded against her chest.

Rolling her eyes at herself at her oh so predictable response to the mere thought of him she shut off the water, angrily grabbing a towel and wrapping it round her small frame.

So what if he knew she was back.

It would be highly unlikely she'd actually run into him, she wasn't planning on going out much after the wedding and so what if she did, he left her! He should be the one to hide from her! And anyway, she'd be gone in a few weeks.

"Ugh" she yelled frustratedly at herself, swiping at her steamy reflection in the mirror and storming out the bathroom.

After quickly dressing, a permanent scowl set on her face, she slowly descended the stairs and made her way to the kitchen in search of asprin, and coffee…

"Well, look who's back from the dead…" Lori teased with a half-smile as Beth grabbed the coffee pot and poured a large mugful, deeply inhaling and relishing in the bitter, warm scent "…We thought we'd lost you there for a minute"

"Well, you said you wanted a wild night" Beth said flippantly, sipping at her hot coffee.

Lori turned to face her friend, worry etched on her pretty face.

"I meant dancing, drinks…fun…not sending out a search party to find you after you mysteriously disappeared after being hit on by some random guy" Lori said, a slim eyebrow raised in Beth's direction.

Beth ran her fingers through her damp hair, she'd been an idiot, the sick twist of guilt yanked at her chest and she sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry Lori, I was a jerk, I shouldn't've left, I didn't really know what I was doing, it was like I wasn't myself" Beth said heavily, remembering the foggy, urgent force that had pulled her away from the club and her brow furrowed in confusion.

Lori looked at her friend and her stomach knotted in worry.

They'd found her on the boardwalk, her eyes wild, hair whipping about her face in the ocean breeze, her skin pale and cold, clinging onto the arm of one of the worst guys she could've picked up in Santa Carla.

Lori had been in two minds about asking Beth to stay on to house sit after the wedding but Jamie had convinced her that she would be fine. Her father's murder and her horrible ending with David had happened four years ago, a long time has passed since then, she'd be fine, probably enjoy getting down to the beach after being stuck in rainy Seattle.

Looking at her friend now, she wasn't so sure.

"You should probably stay away from the guy on the Boardwalk Beth, him and his friends are nothing but trouble" Lori said quietly, sipping on her own mug of coffee.

"I have no intention of seeing him ever again" she lied again, hoping Lori didn't notice the blush rising on her cheeks…

Jamie had been picked up by his groomsmen, Ben, Zach and Jason later that day and whisked off to Zach's apartment where he would spend his last night as a bachelor.

Beth and Lori had decided to rent a movie and get an early night, wanting as much beauty sleep as they could get ahead of the big day.

"…and Popcorn"! Lori yelled over her shoulder at Beth, adding this last thing to her mental list as she grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

Beth drove slowly down the hills to town, trying to push away the anxious knot in her stomach as the red Mercedes purred down the dark streets, the bright Boardwalk lighting up the night in front of her. She pulled up outside the Video Max and switched off the ignition, looking up at the store. It too, like the rest of Santa Carla, hadn't changed and she suddenly felt eighteen again.

Beth swallowed hard, grabbed her purse and slipped out the convertible, locking it behind her, not that she thought it would be much of a deterrent for some of the kids in town who could hotwire a car in thirty seconds flat.

Smoothing down her cotton sun dress she slipped quietly into the store and hid quickly behind the rows and rows of video tapes.

Beth quickly lost herself in perusing the titles, unable to decide on the best choice of movie for their last night together before the wedding tomorrow. She ran her fingers over the covers, reading each one before moving on when suddenly her eyes landed on the film he'd rented for them the night her father's body had been found.

Her blood ran cold…

"Well, if it isn't Beth Campbell"

Beth looked up, startled from her daydream and found Max looking down at her happily from the other side of the row of tapes.

"Max…" Beth breathed, caught off guard, her eyes searching the rest of the store in panic.

Would he be here?

"How have you been Beth?" Max asked, the electric lights of the store casting his long shadow over her.

Beth regained her composure, tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled up at him.

"Oh y'know, work, school…the usual…I'm actually back for a friend's wedding" she said smiling, she'd forgotten how nice it was to talk with Max, he always had time for her and somehow always made her feel like she mattered.

"A wedding, goodness, aren't you all a little young to be getting married"? Max said, a slight teasing smile on his lips and Beth smiled wider.

"I dunno, they seem pretty set on each other and when you know, you just know…I guess" Beth said, sadness tinging at the edges of her final words as she dropped her gaze to the video tape she'd found, running her finger down the spine gently.

"I was so sorry to hear about your father Beth…" Max said softly.

Beth blinked hard and tried to ignore the painful ache in her chest.

"…I never got the chance to offer my condolences before you left" he said.

Beth swallowed down the hard, painful lump in her throat.

"Yeah, we stopped by your house on the way to the airport but we didn't catch you or…" she didn't finish her sentence, biting her tongue to stop herself saying his name.

"Anyway…how have you been Max, business seems to be going well" she said, leaning an arm along the top of the shelf of tapes and smiling up at him with a forced smile.

"Oh well, I'm fine thank you Beth…" he said in a fatherly tone "…and how may I help you tonight, the selection has gotten bigger since you were last here, we have it all". He said, clapping his hands together once and peering over the top of his glasses at her.

"I think I'll take this one" Beth said, slipping the tape out from the shelf, handing it to Max "…and some popcorn, please"

Max looked down at the cover of the tape Beth had chosen and smiled to himself as he took in the artwork. The pale figure with his wet, red mouth lunging over a sleeping woman with honey-brown hair, her long neck bared beneath the monster…Max's eyes darkened as he looked back down at Beth as she stood, looking up at him innocently, a loud pounding sounding in his ears threatened to drown out all other sounds around him and seemed to vibrate through his entire body an he licked his lips quickly…

"Good choice"

As her eyes fluttered open, a wide smile graced her beautiful face and she jumped out of bed, swinging the bedroom door open to see an equally happy Lori carrying two cups of coffee.

"Well good morning Mrs Green" Beth said playfully, taking the steaming cup of coffee Lori offered her.

"Not Mrs Green quite yet, only a few more hours to go"! Lori said, her smile so bright it could probably power a small village.


	11. David didn't need to imagine

Hope you're still enjoying the story – warnings for sex and drug references.

He was hit with an overwhelming sense of de ja vu as his gloved hand hovered over the handle of the back office door in the Video Max.

Every fibre of his being screamed at him, he felt the muscles in his legs constrict with a desperate need to get her out of here and away from _him_, but he just stood frozen in place, unable to tear his eyes away from them.

He watched, hidden behind half open blinds in the dark office as she smiled that perfect smile.

He gripped the door handle hard, hard enough it began to warp under his fist.

She wasn't safe here.

Dwayne silently appeared at his shoulder, following David's gaze to where Max and the girl stood he could feel the tension radiating from David and glanced down to where he'd almost broken off the door handle and a sly, half-smile spread over Dwayne's handsome face.

"Hey Paul, isn't that your girl"? Dwayne said, nodding his head at the door, gesturing him to come to the window and take a look. Dwayne smirked darkly as David's hand fell from the handle and clenched in a tight fist at his side, his jaw clenching tightly, never taking his eyes away from the girl in the store.

Marko threw a warning look up at Dwayne from his seat at the other end of the office as Paul clambered across the furniture in his impatience, Dwayne shrugged, his smile faltering a little but not really disappearing as he took a seat on the edge of Max's desk.

"That's her bro, that's her…" Paul whispered excitedly, clapping David on the shoulder, a wolfish grin on his lips "…man, just look at her…"

David did look at her.

"…God, those legs bro, imagine havin' those legs wrapped round you…"

David didn't need to imagine.

"…See you boys later" Paul said suggestively, grabbing the twisted door handle and opening the door a crack, only to have it slammed back into the frame so hard splinters flew from it.

David's strong arm blocked Paul's path and he shot his youngest brother a deadly glare. It was a look that Paul and the others very rarely saw, David was pulling rank, and he was not to be disobeyed.

"You cock-blocking me, bud"? Paul sniggered, trying to lighten the this tension that had descended upon the small office, but David just squared up to Paul who gave up immediately, throwing his hands up in defeat, sitting on the end of the desk and lighting a cigarette.

"What crawled up his ass" Paul whispered to Dwayne, who just looked up at David, the sly smirk still plastered on his face.

That girl was _someone_ to David, someone important, Dwayne could see it.

Marko sighed heavily and walked over to stand next to his brother at the window as Paul and Dwayne casually flicked through a filing cabinet, intentionally making a mess of Max's neat and ordered system.

David had gone back to staring at the girl in the store.

"That her?" Marko asked so quietly only David heard, his angelic face full of understanding, already knowing the answer that David never gave, but Marko knew…

A few months after Marko had turned, he and David had taken it upon themselves to throw a party at Max's fancy villa. After one hell of a night, in which they'd found their new brother Dwayne, each drained at least eight bottles of Max's top shelf tequila from his cellar, and about as many of California's prettiest girls each, they sat on the plastic garden furniture in silence looking up at the stars. Beer bottles and cigarette butts littered the lawn and patio around them, window blinds hung haphazardly from their broken brackets, pizza boxes were strewn across the floor, shards of broken glass and pretty yellow pills lay spilt on the kitchen counters, bed sheets once pressed to within an inch of their lives were now left laying tangled and stained at the foot of beds around slim necks, and beautiful naked bodies floated face down in the pool.

In a haze of satisfied bloodlust and drunkenness Marko had asked David what events led to him being turned and Marko would never forget the wrenchingly sad smile that David gave him that night, nor the tortured look in his brilliant blue eyes as he looked over at him in the moonlight. David had drunkenly allowed himself to reminisce, a dangerous game to play, but play it he had and he quickly found he was unable to turn off the powerful wave of memories that flooded his mind.

David had only told Marko that he'd been protecting someone, but Marko was always good at reading between the lines.

It was love David had been protecting.

And Marko understood, Marko understood David's look of anguish as he too let himself remember a girl back in L.A with hair as red as fire and eyes that pierced his soul, he remembered her bright smile, the heart wrenching screech of tyres against asphalt, the sickening thump of her body hitting the hood of the car…

The boys never mentioned that night ever again, Marko pretending he'd never seen David look so utterly lost and David was happy to carry on with the charade…

David and Marko's attention was quickly brought back to the office as the sprinkler system was set off and they became drenched in cold water, the remnants of a fire smouldering in a waste paper bin on the desk, Paul and Dwayne both bent over in hysterical laughter.

David had to sidestep quick as lightning away from the door as Max burst through, yellow eyes burning down on all four of them.

"I told you not to come in here anymore" Max hissed darkly, very aware of not wanting to call any unwanted attention to the office.

"Woah, Max, chill dude…" Paul sniggered.

But Max was livid, and David took a quick, protective step in front of his brothers, taunting Max with a raised eyebrow and a slow, devilish smirk. Marko, Dwayne and Paul looked between David and Max with unimpressed expressions before Marko rolled his dark grey eyes, hitting Dwayne lightly on the arm and gesturing for both him and Paul to follow him out.

David watched as his brothers stalked slowly out the dark office and into the bright fluorescent lights of the video store, Marko looked back over his shoulder and David gave him a look Marko instantly understood, and he gave David a quick nod in acknowledgement.

Max had calmed himself and closed the door gently behind the boys as they left the store, tearing away down the promenade on their beastly motorcycles, the sprinklers had drained themselves dry.

David leant casually against a tall filing cabinet, his usual detached, arrogant air returning as he lit a cigarette, and rested his elbow along the edge of the cabinet, looking down at Max with an amused smile as he sat fuming in his office chair, but the self satisfied smirk was soon wiped off David's dangerously handsome face as Max looked up at him with a gleeful smile.

"I've just had a charming conversation with our lovely Beth…"

David wanted to rip Max's dead heart out of his chest.


	12. The babe's really somethin' else

Not 100% happy with this chapter, but here you go...thank you to those that have followed, favourited and commented xx

* * *

He could smell the stale popcorn and nail polish fumes from outside the house.

He'd turned his bike off up the hill and coasted the rest of the way until he heard her heartbeat pound in his head and stopped outside the house.

Every person's heartbeat was unique, like a fingerprint, and hers was like a beautiful symphony, he'd recognise it anywhere now.

Quickly casting a glance to his left and right, checking to make sure the dark street was deserted, he leapt effortlessly from the front lawn up to the porch roof, crouching down and silently stalking his way to the open window.

Her sweet, intoxicating scent was almost overpowering as it wafted toward him on the breeze, and Marko instinctually licked his lips and his throat ached, he swallowed hard as he leaned against the windowsill and peered into the bedroom.

Her honey-brown hair fanned out in luxurious waves over her pillow exposing her pretty, delicate neck, her thick eyelashes brushed softly against her flushed cheek and her full, pink lips parted ever so slightly as she breathed deeply in heavy sleep.

Marko gripped the windowsill harder in restraint as he became hypnotised by the way her chest rose and fell in time with the throbbing in his head, his throat ached painfully, and he could feel the darkness swell hotly inside him. Marko bit his bottom lip, swallowing against his thick, aching throat, his body tingling in anticipation.

Breathing deeply, trying to muster as much self-control as he could he released the windowsill, now splintered under his grip and looked around the large bedroom, though only illuminated by the moonlight shining high in the midnight sky, he saw in perfect clarity every small item in the room…

The stitching on her large suitcase, half unpacked and left discarded next to the wardrobe, the individual zipper teeth on her small make up case open on the dresser, every spoke of her hairbrush along with a few long strands of silken, golden hair, the fine fibres of her sweater hanging off the armchair, the small, gold heart shaped pendant hanging from a hook near the mirror with "D+B" sloppily engraved on it, the delicate lace of her pale pink bra hanging from the bathroom door handle.

Marko swallowed thickly.

A red mist clouded his vision as he tried to focus on the date on her airline ticket on her nightstand and not her sleepy head as it rolled softly against her pillow.

David's name escaped her soft lips in the quietest of whispers.

Feeling as though a bucket of ice water had suddenly been injected into his dry veins, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and deftly dropped to the ground, his boots crunching the parched, yellow grass underfoot as he headed for his bike. His mission from David now accomplished, he'd checked out her surroundings, gauged how long she'd be in town for and now he could go home and try to forget the feel of her heartbeat pumping through his body.

He couldn't do this again.

Not if he wasn't allowed to have her

And he wasn't allowed.

She was David's.

* * *

David chain smoked a whole pack of cigarettes as he waited for Marko to return.

Dwayne and Paul had grown tired of David's dark mood and headed off to the beach for the last few hours before they had to return to the hotel, surf boards balanced on top of their heads, Paul saying something about watching Jaws the other night and wanting to go night surfing.

David lit another cigarette as he watched the candles slowly burn down and rubbed his middle finger and thumb over his brow in frustration, now alone he didn't have to hide how truly pissed he was.

Paul just couldn't keep his mouth shut.

And Max, Max could go do one if he thought he could use her presence to control him.

No one controlled him.

What did he care if she was back, wasn't like she'd come looking for him, wasn't like he wanted her to…

Taking another drag he let his head fall back against the fabric of his wheelchair, closing his eyes and exhaling a cloud of smoke, trying to let his newly refreshed veins soothe his tension, which proved fruitless as visions of her pretty neck and tanned legs swam under his eyelids.

David let out a growl of pent up rage and picked up an empty whisky bottle from the large chest to his left, throwing it against the far wall of the cave, the glass exploding and shattering into tiny sharp splinters, falling onto the sandy carpet…

Marko let out a low whistle as he leant against the opening to the cave, one foot balanced in front, resting on the toe of his boot, his arms crossed over his chest and an amused smile on his lips, thoroughly pleased with himself that he'd caught his usually detached and aloof older brother in a moment of fury.

David sent an ice-cold glare at Marko, his lips turning up in a sneer.

Marko raised his hands in surrender, sauntering down the rocky steps and flopping down onto the old, battered sofa "Hey bro, I get it…" he said, his dark grey eyes glittering in the candlelight, the dark stain of dried blood plastered down his chin and chest "…the babe's really somethin' else"

David clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, trying to regain his cool and Marko rolled his eyes, deciding to put his brother out of his misery.

"She's got a flight back to Seattle booked for the ninth" he said casually, flicking at the sand on the floor with the tip of his boot.

David nodded slightly at his brother, which was all the thanks Marko was going to get in David's present mood.

"Where are the others"? Marko asked, looking around the hotel, absentmindedly picking at the stitching on the sofa, trying to lighten the heavy tension.

David chuckled softly, his brilliant blue eyes twinkling in the low fire light and took another drag of his cigarette, trying to push the events of the evening to the back of his mind

"Paul's trying to turn a shark…"


	13. I gotta take care of something

C13

Lori looked beautiful.

Her red hair shone in the setting sun, her eyes twinkled, her kilowatt smile beamed at everyone with love and Jamie couldn't keep his hands off her.

The setting sun beamed down on them from a cloudless, wonderous blue sky, cooled by a pleasant breeze drifting in off the ocean.

After tossing her bouquet, Lori and Jamie made a quick dash to the stretch limo that was waiting to take them to the airport and off on their honeymoon adventure.

Beth stood on the deck of the Santa Carla Rowing Club and looked out at the horizon, the sun casting a neon pink glow over the water and she smiled softly to herself, it had been a great day.

Glancing to her right as she felt someone sidle up to her, she saw Jason standing next to her, looking rather handsome in his groomsman suit, his bow tie undone, the ends hanging loosely around his unbuttoned collar and his shirtsleeves rolled to his elbows. He offered her a glass of champagne with a charming smile, which she accepted, a small bush colouring her cheeks as she looked up into his deep blue eyes.

Jason had been a grade above her at school, along with Jamie and the rest of them. She'd considered him pretty cute once upon a time, but then _he'd_ turned up, and she knew the second she saw him leaning against his motorcycle in the school parking lot that her heart would beat only for him.

Beth sighed heavily at the memory and sipped her champagne, letting the bubbles effervesce on the tip of her tongue, leaving a cherry pink lipstick stain on the crystal glass.

There wasn't enough champagne in the world to make her forget that her heart still beat only for him…

In a desperate attempt to rid herself of the painful weight of too many memories, she'd let Jason dance with her till the end of the evening, let him drape his tuxedo jacket over her shoulders as he walked her to his car, let him drive her the long way home and even let him kiss her cheek when he walked her to her door but all she could think about was David…and it was tearing her up inside.

She didn't bother turning the lights on as she kicked off her heels at the door, padding her way softly up the stairs and sitting on the end of her big guest bed. Sighing heavily, she looked out at the big, white full moon and the twinkling stars and wondered where he was.

Was he thinking of her too?

Was he with some other girl?

The thought made her feel sick and she rolled her eyes at herself for being so pathetic.

Sitting in the window seat, curling her knees up to her chest, letting her bridesmaid's dress bunch around her thighs, she opened the bedroom window wide and inhaled deeply, letting the cool ocean air fill her lungs, but all she felt was a sudden, undeniable pull toward town.

Memories flooded her mind.

His hands in her hair, his lips against hers, his arm around her waist, his perfect smile, his achingly blue eyes…

Unable to deny whatever it was that was pulling at her heart, she slipped out of her bridesmaid's dress and quickly changed into the one discarded from yesterday, slipped on her slingback heels and ran down the stairs, grabbed her keys and let the force guide her toward town…

David felt something pull gently at the edges of his mind, like something was whispering to him but he couldn't make out what was being said.

He ignored it.

As the night went grew older, he could no longer ignore it, feeling the pull to the beach with every step he took, his chest feeling like it was caving in on itself, constricting painfully.

Finally submitting to whatever it was that was pulling at him, he pushed away from the wall of the club, crushing his cigarette into the concrete with the heel of his boot.

"I gotta take care of something" David said urgently above the beat of the music echoing out of the club, gesturing toward their bikes parked up ahead, the other three boys nodded in acknowledgement and followed behind David, mounting their bikes with graceful ease.

"What is it" Dwayne questioned, his brow furrowed when he saw David's face twist with some unknown desperate need and he kicked his bike into life.

"I dunno" David replied, gunning it out the alley and onto the street, the boys following right behind him…

The Boardwalk was silent.

The lights were shut off and the stalls had closed up for the night.

She knew this was a mistake.

Knew it the second she stepped foot on the Boardwalk, but the weight of bittersweet memories and this magical, unknown force kept her feet moving forward toward the old wooden bench at the end of the pier that looked out on the Pacific, a single street lamp illuminating it like a spotlight on a stage.

The cool ocean breeze billowing over her sent a shiver down her spine as she stood behind the bench looking out at the big black ocean, the pale lonely moon shining bright in a star-studded sky.

An aching pain swelled in the back of her throat and she swallowed hard, sending it down into her chest and her eyes pricked painfully.

"Tomorrow, midnight" she whispered to herself as she stupidly let all the memories of the last time she'd seen him overtake her. His perfect face looking down at her with so much love in his impossibly blue eyes, the feel of his skin against hers...she'd promised him forever and what, he couldn't even turn up!

Was it all just an elaborate game to him!

Was that all he was waiting for and once he'd gotten it, he couldn't be bothered with her anymore!

Beth's tiny hands balled into angry fists at her sides.

She swallowed a sob she wouldn't let escape her lips and threw her head back to look up at the black sky, a single tear rolling from the corner of her eye. She wiped it away quickly, folding her arms in front of her, trying to protect herself from the chill sea wind.

This was nothing she hadn't already gone over a million times. It was easy for her to think he was a jerk, to think that he didn't actually care about her at all when she was in Seattle.

But here, in Santa Carla, at their spot...

She remembered the way he'd look at her, like she was the only girl in the world, the way his smile would make her weak at the knees, the way he'd kiss her...no...he had loved her. And that thought was worse than thinking he was being true to his reputation.

He'd loved her and he'd still left.

Sometimes she could still feel the ache in her wrist where she'd broken it as she slammed her fists against Max's front door, screaming his name.

She looked back out at the ocean, watching the waves crash against the beach, lost in memory when suddenly the air turned electric and her skin was overtaken by Goosebumps...

Her heart raced at the sound of growling motorcycles, one approaching slowly behind her, the old wooden boards of the pier groaning slightly under the weight and her slim shadow was thrown against the horizon as a single headlight illuminated the night from behind her.

She swallowed hard, her hands dropping to her sides, her wide eyes focused on the crashing waves in front of her and she shivered.

The bike's ignition cut off and silence reigned once again, the atmosphere so thick she thought she might choke on it.

It was him.

She heard his booted footsteps walk slowly toward her and then stop abruptly, her breathing became ragged, he was so close she could smell the cigarette smoke on his coat, but she didn't turn around...

He knew this was a mistake.

Knew it the second he saw her standing at the end of the Pier, but the heavy weight of memories and this magical, unknown force pulled him toward her.

Maybe if he just saw her face one more time, that would be enough to tide him over for the rest of eternity.

He turned the ignition off and the boys did the same, silence reigning again over the night and he watched her shivering by their bench. The headlight from his bike illuminating her like the light from a lighthouse, calling him home, the wind whipping at the skirt of her dress, her golden-brown hair flying around her shoulders and he felt an ache swell in his chest.

He slipped off his bike and stalked toward her slowly, his breathing slow, hard, deliberate.

He stood as close to her as he dared.

There wasn't much left in this world that could scare him, but she was terrifying to him now, and he didn't care if the other's saw it.

She was so close, so real…

He was stood so close to her it was as though he could feel the heat of her body warm his soul, if he still had one...his fingers twitched restlessly at his sides and he had to restrain himself from wrapping his arms around her and never let go.

He reached his cold hand forward slowly toward hers.

Could he do it?

Could he touch her and not let his long forgotten, but clearly not dead, human-self regret every single decision he's ever made in the last four years? Could he touch her warm skin and not feel like some kind of monster…

He could hear her heart beat pounding in his ears, it was racing, her blood rushing through her body so fast it made him dizzy, he could hear her shallow breathing hitch in the back of her throat, her sweet perfume made is head foggy...she was so, alive.

What the hell was he doing...

He swallowed hard, his hand dropping from where he was almost about to touch her and curled into a tight fist. His eyes closed and he let out a long, heavy breath.

No.

He couldn't.

He turned quickly back to his bike, his three brothers looking on with serious expressions on their faces.

"Wait!" she choked out, and he could feel her fingers curling around the sleeve of his coat and he stopped in his tracks.

He took a deep breath and turned to face her...

Her breath hitched in the back of her throat and her heart slammed painfully against her chest, her fingers curling tighter into the thick wool fabric of his long coat.

Her dark eyes widened as they roamed over him, taking in just how much time had changed him.

His hair no longer golden but a shock of white, his skin was so pale, and a light blonde scruff covered his cheeks and chin. A single long earing dangled from his ear and the collar of the leather jacket he wore under his coat was cuffed against the midnight breeze, his t-shirt pulled tight against his chest and his dark leather jeans were threadbare at the ends.

Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes met his piercing gaze. His icy blue eyes looked down at her with such an intensity it made her feel like she might burst into flame at any moment.

Her fingers slipped from his coat but her eyes never left his, and her body was flooded with a desperate need to both run away and run into his arms making her muscles tense, the air between them electrified, thick with words unsaid.

"You shouldn't've come back Beth" he ground out darkly and before she knew it, his cold lips crashed hard against hers...

She could feel her heart break in her chest as a quiet, pained whimper escaped her throat as his lips captured hers roughly. Her arms wrapped around his neck instinctively, her fingers clutching desperately at the collar of his coat. A single tear slipped from her closed eyes as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her so tight to him she thought she might never be able to breathe again...

His head screamed at him to stop but the signals died before reaching his arms, his fingers, his mouth.

She was so warm it made his whole body ache with the need for her.

Kissing her was exactly like he'd remembered and he knew he'd be haunted by this moment until the world crumbled around him.

His hand fisted in the cotton fabric of her dress and he pulled her closer, the other snaked up her waist, along her neck and he buried his icy fingers in her hair, grabbing at it for dear life.

He should push her away, tell her to leave this town for good, yell at her, scare her if he had to but she _had_ to leave.

She whispered his name softly against his lips and the sound burned itself into his dead heart and he ripped himself forcefully from her with a frustrated, pained growl, making her stumble back against the back of the wooden bench, her breathing short and sharp.

It took all his diminishing strength to take a few steps back as she looked up at him from underneath her thick eyelashes, her dark doe eyes boring a whole in his heart. He had to steady his breathing as he looked down at her pink, wet, full lips. He thought for a brief moment that he could feel his still heart pound against his chest, but knew the drumming pulsating through his body wasn't his heart he heard, but hers...and it made his throat ache painfully.

"Don't ever let me see your face around here again Beth" he ground out menacingly between deep, steadying breaths as he gripped the handlebars of his bike so hard he could see his bones through his pale skin.

He didn't look up to see her brow furrow in pain and confusion, too much of a coward to watch as the girl he'd once loved look at him like she didn't know him anymore as salty tears fell down her flushed cheeks.

"What"? She whispered in disbelief, taking a few shaky steps toward him.

"I MEAN IT"! he roared as he rounded on her.

Beth's palm pressed against her chest trying to steady the out of control beat of her heart, the other clutching the back of the bench as he towered over her. He looked down at her and as soon as her eyes met his he saw her jaw clench and her face harden and she looked up at him, brave defiance flickering in her dark eyes, her gaze never wavering from his and he could almost feel the shiver run down her spine.

"David…" he heard Marko call his name from up the Pier "…We gotta go"

David continued to glare down at her even though he could feel the strength leaving him as the sky slowly streaked with pale yellow, signalling the coming dawn.

David made to leave, mounting his bike and kicking it violently into action.

"No…" she said desperately, grasping for him but he'd already turned and started racing down the pier, his brothers firing up their bikes in preparation to follow.

"David"! she yelled after him, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks, feeling like her heart was breaking all over again as she watched him and his friends shrink into the distance.


	14. He'd be all aloneagain

Short chapter, but getting there - it's been a bit of a hectic week I'm afraid.

Thank you so much to all of you that have read my story and a special shout out to those that have favourited and commented - this makes me very happy :)

* * *

Paul felt like an absolute idiot.

How did he miss it?

He was usually so good at picking up on all his brother's feelings, but he'd completely missed the mark this time...

As he raced behind David and Marko back to the hotel, Dwayne bringing up the rear, the first faint shards of dawn streaking across the sky, Paul cringed at the memory of how he'd been practically drooling over her at the Video Max...

David must be super pissed.

Paul's skin felt like it was crawling.

Ditching the bikes, all four of them stalked quickly into the opening of the cave, each thankful to be back in the safety of their dark home, Marko and Dwayne flopping down heavily on the old sofa with tired eyes. Paul leant against the wall, half hidden in shadow and watched David sink into his wheelchair and lazily light a cigarette, inhaling deeply.

Paul tapped his toe against the sandy carpet nervously, running his hands through his wild hair and chewed his fingernails.

David blew a long stream of smoke up toward the ceiling.

"Spit it out Pauly" he said quietly.

Paul shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged, trying to shake off some of his nervous energy.

"Look bro, I didn't know you had her were..." Paul stared awkwardly.

"It's ok Paul..." David interrupted, taking another drag and looking over at Paul with a small half smile "...it was a long time ago; didn't think she'd ever come back truth be told"

Paul quickly glanced over at Marko and Dwayne, checking to make sure his older brothers were asleep before he stepped forward and sat cross legged at David's feet, looking up at him with awe. David was Paul's hero, right from the very beginning, literally saving his life after finding him in a dirty alley, bloodied and beaten to within an inch of his life after hitting on someone he definitely shouldn't've been hitting on, story of his life...She'd been worth it though.

"So what happened"? Paul pressed, his expression unusually soft making him look very much the teenager that he was. David sometimes forgot Paul had been turned so young, him having been with them for just over a year, but with his wacky sense of humour and endearing charm, he'd quickly earned the love and respect of his brothers and it wasn't long before they couldn't remember what life was like without him.

David looked down at Paul with tired eyes and smiled sadly for a brief moment before shrugging coolly, a nonchalant smile playing on his lips.

"Nothin' time won't heal, though it appears it's gonna take a little longer than I'd planned" he said with a short, sharp laugh which reverberated throughout the cave.

Paul nodded and understood he wouldn't get any more out of him, David always played his true feelings close to his chest but that didn't mean Paul didn't understand that she was important to him, and if she was important to David, well, she was important to him too, and instead of the white hot fire that almost overpowered him when he thought of her before, a wave of familial affection and the undeniable need to protect her washed over him.

* * *

She always was trouble.

He knew it then and he knew it now, Beth Campbell was trouble for him and his boys and Max clucked his tongue as he stepped away from the telescope that was trained on the end of the pier.

Max had watched with anger swelling in his chest as he'd spied on them. Watched with fire in his eyes as David had kissed her, at the way her eyes ignited with defiance as he rounded on her.

She wouldn't stay away now, no matter what David had told her before he'd sped away into the coming dawn.

Max slumped into the large armchair, the moon casting long shadows across the floorboards, illuminating the attic in a sickly yellow hue and stroked Thorn's head absentmindedly as his mind raced with urgent planning.

If she stayed in Santa Carla, he'd lose David, that much was certain. And if David goes, Marko will soon follow and then the rest of them.

He'd be all alone.

Again.

He looked down into Thorn's big black eyes, communicating his plan silently to the hound.

It would have to be done carefully...

It would have to be done soon...


	15. Chill Fluffy

Si's attention was quickly drawn to the end of the dark alley when he heard a dog barking loudly.

He recognised that bark, hadn't heard it in a long time though.

His hooded, dark eyes trained on the pale mutt and he sighed, exhaling a heavy stream of cigarette smoke.

Thorn kept barking until Si nodded in his direction, and the dog quieted, disappearing from the dingy alley.

Si ground out his finished cigarette against the tarmac with his big boot, cuffed the collar of his leather jacket and pushed off from the wall of the club, walking in the direction Thorn had come from, shoving his hands deep in his pocket with a sickening smirk.

He had a job.

Si finally arrived at the big hilltop villa just as the sun was starting to peak above the watery horizon in pale neon streaks of pink and yellow. Si pulled on his sunglasses to shield his eyes from the light, his pockmarked face twisting into a sneer as he pushed open the pretty wooden gate that led to the house.

The front door opened seemingly by itself just as Si raised his fist to bang on the door, and he slipped inside quietly, unseen by anyone only to be greeted by a snarling Hellhound.

"Chill Fluffy…" he spat at Thorn …" your boss invited me".

"Come to the back Si" he heard Max call through the house. Thorn snarled and snapped at Si as he walked past, but Si paid him no mind, he wouldn't hurt him, not when he had a job.

Si walked through the large house, taking in its impeccable design and expensive décor – Max sure knew how to live!

"Si, it's been a long time" Max said in greeting as Si walked into the study at the back of the house. It was dark, Max had thankfully kept the lights off and Si was finally able to remove his sunglasses and sunk down into a large leather wingback chair, sighing heavily as he rested his elbows on the arms, placing his heavy, dirty boots on the, what looked to be, antique coffee table in front of him.

Max raised an eyebrow and sighed in disgust.

He hated this part, but it was…necessary.

"So, what's the job Max"? Si asked with a smirk, his dark eyes flashing dangerously in the dark.

"It's a delicate matter this time" Max said in warning, leaning forward on his elbows over the shiny walnut wood desk.

Si rolled his eyes.

"A girl" Max said darkly.

Si's smirk turned into a full, toothy smile "a girl huh?" Si said "wouldn't've thought a girl would've given you much trouble Max, you've dealt with worse yourself"

"This particular problem requires my complete absence" Max said, steeple-ing his fingers "she's become…attached…to one of the boys"

"Is that it"? Si scoffed, rolling his eyes "let them deal with it, they're more than capable"

"That's not going to be a possibility in this particular situation" Max said, leaning back in his chair and pinching the bridge of his nose "it's a girl from, from…before"

"Ah…" Si exclaimed, understanding dawning on him slowly.

"If she stays in town much longer, he'll certainly leave, and the others will follow and I will not allow that" Max said, his yellow eyes glowing in the dim light.

"So you need me to off her for you?" Si asked, "I still don't understand why you can't do this yourself instead of paying me to do it, not that I mind being paid for my specific skills"

Max sighed heavily in frustration.

"The boys can't know I had anything to do with this" Max said tiredly, "if they knew, they would never forgive me and would leave anyway, this has to be done so I have plausible deniability. I don't want to know when you plan to do it, what you plan to do to her, I don't care, I just want her gone, and I don't want her to come back…ever, you understand me Si"?

Si nodded, his greasy dark hair falling in his eyes.

"So who is she" Si asked, the buzz of anticipation already running thick through his body.

Max slowly opened the drawer on his desk, pulled out a photo and stared at it for a while before handing it over to Si who let out a slow, low whistle and licked his lips as he took in the girl frozen in time in the photograph.

"Beth Campbell" Max spat, not liking the way her name felt in his mouth "she's residing on Chestnut Street"

Si licked his lips again and slipped the photo into his inner jacket pocket.

"Will 3 be enough"? Max asked, looking at Si over the top of his glasses. Si smiled his sickening smile and nodded his head "good, I'll have them delivered once the job is done" Si nodded in agreement, practically shaking with anticipation.

"And I have your word that this won't come back to me in any way" Max said dangerously.

"Yeah, yeah, I know" Si said, hauling his large body up from the chair, leaving Max in peace as he slammed the study door shut.

Max sighed heavily and placed his glasses on the desk, an unfamiliar feeling of remorse crept over him, but he shook it off quickly, reminding himself it was either her or his family.

Back out on the street, Si took the photo back out his jacket and stared at it hungrily all the way back to his grubby apartment.


End file.
